Piney Grove Methodist Church

10/27/2026

Pastor's hindsight - what exactly happened?

Yesterday's worship service came on the heels of the church's fall fest on Saturday night. Soups and sandwiches, decorations in the color orange, cakewalk and games and a hayride was a fun celebration of fall.

Sunday's worship service focused around Paul's instruction to the Christians in Colossea to "not be deceived," in our series Diving Into Scripture.
That church faced competing ideas and people groups who held views and practices that Paul identified as counter to Christ, whether it was dietary laws, religious holiday celebrations or idle notions of having insider spiritual knowledge producing false humility.
The reality is found in Christ.
It strikes me as interesting that Paul spends 2 chapter talking about something that is hard to understand (especially its full implications) about being in Christ and having Christ in us, only to become very specific in chapter 3 with explicit details on what to "put to death" and what to keep. He's a master communicator.
In the middle of that, he advises us to keep our minds and hearts on things above, not to be dragged down to focus on earthly things. We can understand that easily enough.

I pray that your week is full of His grace and hope to see you in church next Sunday for the next chapter of Colossians..."Do's and don't for people in Jesus."

/pastor Andreas

10/23/2026

Pastor's foresight - what is going to happen on Sunday?

We gather for worship on Sunday at 11am as usual, preparing to hear from God's word as it is found in Colossians, verses 2:11-23. Paul is writing about the wonderful work that God has done in and for people through Christ, and how should be understood when people try to pull them back into the ways of old, e.g. before Christ.

While we don't struggle with calls for going back to old dietary laws or how to celebrate the Sabbath (these have all been settled a long time ago), we still have to be on guard so that hollow and deceptive philosophies or false spiritual humility or "puffed up idle spiritual notions of having special insight" don't take our eyes and minds off of Jesus.
Unfortuantely, we are not yet in a place where our minds can stay on "things above" / Jesus, without interruptions and distractions.

Our hymns are: #23 Holy, holy, holy, #46 How firm a foundation, Agnus Dei by Michael W. Smith.
Mike Clark is doing the welcome
Sara Culberson is reading the Scripture
The Scripture for the sermon is Col. 2:16-19 and the title is "Let us not be deceived."

Sunday school starts at 9:45am.
The Contemporary service team meeting is at 5pm.
"Movement" youth group is at 6pm.

I'm looking forward to worshipping with you on Sunday!
pastor Andreas

10/20/2026

The upcoming Family Worship service on October 25 has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. It will come back soon, stayed tuned for the new date.

/pastor Andreas

10/19/2026

Pastor's hindsight - what exactly happened?

Yesterday was the third Sunday in our series "Diving into Scripture - Colossians." We looked at the first 10 verses of Colossians and how Paul is building on the previous chapter where Jesus Himself is the gospel.
The people of Colossea had put their faith in Jesus and loved all God's people but Paul kept praying that they would go deeper, continue to stand firm but be made complete in understanding God's mystery, namely Christ in them.

Chapter 2 starts with an unusually personal statement from Paul, how hard he is working for them, even though they've never met, and how his goal is for them to:
- they may be encouraged in heart
- and united in love
- so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding
- in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

This is the goal of every good pastor for his/her congregation. That they know Christ and are encouraged in heart and united in love with Him and by Him, for one another.

I shared how I personally have found this to be true these past two weeks, which have been very difficult for me, but how Christ is in Himself everything for me and for us.
We don't come to Christ for a little compassion and a little comfort and a little strength. He is those things himself, because He loves us.
When we need strength or guidance or love or comfort, do we ask those we love for 5oz of grace of 10lbs of comfort? No, we don't. They bring those things, to some extent, by being who they are and loving us.
It's like that with Christ, dialled up to 11.

We sang wonderful (and classic) hymns, lifted up our concerns and joys to God in prayer and enjoyed the fellowship of the saints.

The children had a great time in the afternoon when the Siler City Fire Department, the Siler City Police and the Sherrif's department came by for a demonstration.

There is joy in the Lord because He is joy.
I pray you experience and grasp that this week,
Pastor Andreas

PS. Piney Grove Methodist Church now has online giving! We're working on several different ways to enable you to support the church, but for now, just go to our website and click on "Give."

Welcome to Piney Grove Methodist Church in Siler City, NC. You are welcome here as we reach, teach, grow, equip, and send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.

10/15/2026

A reminder of Sunday's activities for children!

10/12/2026

Welcome to "Rocky soil - theology class" tonight at 7pm. Tonight's topic - Christianese, what do our expressions and words actually mean?

10/12/2026

Upcoming children's events at Piney Grove:
Sunday, October 18, 3:30-5:00 pm: Safety Sunday for Kids (see attached flyer). The Siler City Fire and Police Departments and Chatham County Sheriff Department will be joining us for a fun
afternoon of Safety activities especially for children and their families. Invite your families and friends!

Sunday, October 25, 5:00 pm: Our Family Ministries Team will be hosting a Fall Festival for the whole church. The night will include a soup and sandwich dinner, fun games and activities and a hayride (weather permitting). You and your children are welcome to dress in their fun Fall/Halloween attire!

Sunday, December 6, TBD: Christmas LIghts and Trolley Ride in Burlington Reservations have to be made. We hope to have more information next week about the details of this adventure.

Sunday School Lessons:
October 11: Where is the Treasure Hidden based on Matthew 13:45-46
October 18: Scattergories Bible Edition - a fun game of Bible knowledge and trivia
October 25: Let Jesus' LIght Shine on Halloween based on several Old and New Testament verses about shining God's light
November 1: Building with LEGOS: The Rock and the Sand based on Matthew 7:24-27
November 8: Building with LEGOS: The Body of Christ (Many Pieces, One Body) based on I Corinthians 12:4-27
November 15: Building with LEGOS: Prayer and Perseverance (Keep Building!) based on Luke 11:5-10
November 22: Thanksgiving based on Ephesians 5:20; I Timothy 4;4-5; Psalm 136
November 29: First Sunday of Advent: We will begin a series remembering the events and people who are apart of the The Nativity Story.

Family and Children's worship services:
On the fourth Sunday of the month, Pastor Andreas centers the entire worship service around a special message for our children. These have been wonderful learning moments for the children as well as the adults.

October 25th 11am: Christ and a dog. Children love animals and many times animals help children understand unconditional love better than most other things. So why not use dogs as a visual aid for Christ, who also loves us without conditions. Rest assured, there won't be any dogs in the sanctuary! Pastor Andreas has recruited some assistants to help with making this service appropriate and meaningful for all.

November 22nd 11am: Christ and His Church. It is important for the children to feel that the church belongs to them as well as the adults. Not only that, but our sanctuary has several stories to tell and symbols to explain. So let's talk about it.

10/12/2026

Pastor's hindsight - what exactly happened?

Last Sunday was many things. It was pastor's appreciation Sunday. It was Communion Sunday (with a somewhat new liturgy). It was a tornado warning.

We continued our dive into Colossians and finished out chapter 1. Paul, trying to reach the Christians in Colossea with the truth about Jesus and the need to live worthy lives in His kingdom, spoke of Jesus in powerful ways. The image of the invisible God. The head of the church. He is before all things and all things were made through Him.

Paul then speaks of the beauty of our reconciliation with God the Father because of what Jesus did on the cross.
Then Paul gives us a warning. All that Jesus is and has done only applies to us if we continue in the faith and stand firm in it, not falling away.
This gospel is Paul's focus and he continues to share how eager he is to spread this gospel and its now revealed mystery, namely Christ in us, the hope of glory. Jesus is not far from those who believe.

Then, in a surprising twist, Paul changes gears and tells us that the gospel he preaches to the world is not a message as much as it is a person. Jesus is the Gospel, or Good News.

This may seem like a minor difference but it isn't. It changes everything.
If the Gospel, the Good News, is not information about Jesus or events that Jesus did but actually the person Jesus, and He is in all believers by His Spirit, it changes everything:
- If you struggle with doubt or questions about meaning or purpose, know that Jesus Himself is your Good News. Everything, including our purpose and the meaning of life, is in Jesus because everything was created in Him and through Him.
- If you struggle with the church, feeling isolated or overlooked or hurt, know that the church belongs to Christ and that He is your Good News and that He knows you and sees you and loves you.
- If you struggle with a sin or a temptation, know that if you are in Christ and continue in Him, He can reconcile you with the Father and present you without blemish or accusation. Imagine, Jesus Himself is your Good News, not a "talking to" or a test to pass or something to sacrifice to appease God. Just Jesus.

There is more but this will do plenty. Paul calls Jesus in us a great mystery with "glorious riches". Lean into that.

We celebrated communion together and used the new "abbreviated liturgy." It was a little different and I think we will look at the other two options available as well.

There was a great covered dish luncheon after church for "Pastor's appreciation" and I want to thank everybody who was involved for all their hard work. The food / desserts were delicious and cards and gifts much appreciated.

Today (Monday) we have our Rocky Soil theology class at 7pm, this time diving into the special words and expressions we use in the church, such as "Atonement" or "Trinity" or "Incarnation", and what they actually mean.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is our women's group Circle of Hope at 7pm.

Sunday the 18th is three things.
A normal worship service.
A "safety Sunday" for kids between 3:30-5pm with fire trucks, police cars and activities.
Our annual charge conference at 6pm with presiding elder Linda Yow leading us in celebration and worship.

10/11/2026

10/11/26

10/10/2026

Pastor's foresight - what is going to happen?

I'm really looking forward to worship on Sunday!
Sunday's service will continue our Dive into Scripture and focus on the supremacy of Christ and how, according to Colossians 1:15-29, almost everything is connected with Him.
Come and hear how Christ connects with your doubts, or big questions about meaning, or your life in the church, or when you don't feel worthy of God's love, or when you celebrate and rejoice, and many other things.

The Scriptures are Colossians 1:15-20 and 21-27.
The songs are #102 My hope is built on nothing less, #130 Savior, like a shepherd lead us and Victory in Jesus.
We will celebrate Jesus and be strengthened by Him in Communion (please let the pastor know if someone you know is homebound and would like to take Communion).

After the service, there is a Pastor's appreciation covered dish luncheon.

Online or in-person, welcome to Piney Grove Methodist Church on Sunday!